Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) by 136.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 355,857 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 205,260 shares during the period. Vulcan Materials comprises 1.7% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.27% of Vulcan Materials worth $89,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VMC. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials in the first quarter valued at $388,027,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,005,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,368,273,000 after purchasing an additional 755,991 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vulcan Materials by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,130,537 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $533,551,000 after purchasing an additional 330,433 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 621.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 235,879 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $64,581,000 after acquiring an additional 203,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 1,191.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,005 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,541,000 after acquiring an additional 146,695 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vulcan Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

VMC stock opened at $270.39 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.24. The company has a market capitalization of $35.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Vulcan Materials has a 12 month low of $206.02 and a 12 month high of $279.47.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.12). Vulcan Materials had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Vulcan Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VMC shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vulcan Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Vulcan Materials from $297.00 to $292.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vulcan Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.75.

Vulcan Materials Company Profile

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.